The Neurons Of Smart People Are Bigger

Is brain size related in any way to IQ? At the moment, this hypothesis has not been proven, however, science has revealed a fact that is at least interesting. We now know that the neurons of smart people are bigger. This makes it easier for information to be transmitted faster and ideas to flow with greater agility.

This data, curious as it may seem, continues to irritate a part of the academic community. Somehow, relating “volumes” to “intellectual performance” seems somewhat reductionist and even simplistic. Because, at the end of the day, intelligence is still very complex to evaluate and even define, therefore, looking at size now is somewhat contradictory.

Despite this, the data is there. Scientists from the so-called Human Brain Project have discovered that there is a direct relationship between the size of brain cells and the level of cognitive competence of people. This also opens up new possibilities, such as expanding the limit of human intelligence in the laboratory setting.

Something that beyond the ethical implications is still interesting …

According to science, brain cells in smart people are bigger

The study, led by Dr. Natalia Goriounova of the Free University of Amsterdam, was the first to show that the size of brain cells is directly related to a person’s intelligence levels. At higher density and connectivity, the intellectual potential is more significant.

Until today we knew that the brain has about 100 billion neurons and that each one of them collects, processes and sends information thanks to a series of chemical reactions and electrical signals. We knew its mechanics, but we did not have solid data to associate brain cell volume with cognitive performance.

We had, for example, data from the analysis of Albert Einstein’s brain, after the pathologist Thomas Harvey stole it after his autopsy in 1955. That analysis revealed, among other data, that the prefrontal cortex, responsible for spatial cognition and mathematical thinking was more developed.

Also that the glial cells of the father of the theory of relativity were larger than average. Therefore, somehow, we already had some small clues that anticipated these results …

Frontal cortex and temporal lobes: increased volume of neurons

The analyzes obtained in the work of the University of Amsterdam showed not only that the neurons of intelligent people are larger. It could also be seen that in those areas where a large part of the brain cells are found (prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes) they present a greater branching.

That is to say, they not only present a greater volume, they also show a higher connectivity with many more neurons around them. All this configures a brain with more synapses in which information flows more quickly. Likewise, as evidenced by Einstein’s brain, both the frontal cortex and the temporal lobes have a greater density and size in the brightest people.

Why are the neurons of smart people bigger?

When looking at these data, the question that comes to mind is obvious: why are the neurons of intelligent people bigger? Do you do anything in particular to have a higher than average volume? Is it perhaps something similar to muscle tissue? That is, the more you exercise, the bigger it gets?

What they point out to us from the Human Brain Project is that this particularity responds to genetic factors and processes that have not yet been fully clarified. Thus, something interesting that the Free University of Amsterdam carried out is to proceed to a detailed analysis of each neuron in an active state, that is, still “alive”.

To do this, a group of people who needed surgery due to a tumor or epileptic complications were studied. Before the intervention, they were given an intelligence test to identify those with higher intellectual abilities. Later, and during the intervention, small samples of the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes were extracted.

What could be seen, in addition to the larger size of the cells themselves, was a much higher action potential (the wave of electrical discharge that travels along the cell membrane, modifying it). Next, an attempt was made to understand what triggers the larger brain cells that appear in the brightest people.

The results have not yet been published and we do not have fully conclusive data to date.

What implications does this discovery have for the future?

Are we born already intelligent or do we become brilliant beings thanks to stimulation and the environment? This is the eternal question that science has asked itself throughout the decades. Today, we know that there are two types of intelligence: fluid and crystallized.

Thus, while the first comes from the base at birth, the second is the result of learning and experience. However, they are not exclusive and none have an established limit. Knowing this, what then does the cited discovery suppose? What implication could it have to know that the neurons of intelligent people are bigger and have more connections?

Michele Giugliano, a co-author and professor at the University of Antwerp, points out something prescient. Perhaps in the near future we can create larger brain cells with embryonic and pluripotent stem cells. Thanks to this, we would achieve something hopeful, something that goes beyond being more intelligent. We could restore brain material and reduce the cognitive deficit associated with injuries or dementias. We will be pending of these advances and of more data on the matter.